RESUMEN
STUDY DESIGN: This is a Delphi study. OBJECTIVES: Defining variables that potentially influence the outcomes of an animal study regarding pathophysiology of traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI). SETTING: This study was conducted in Iran. METHODS: A modified two-round Delphi study was conducted. As the first round, an initial questionnaire was developed on the basis of literature and a series of focus group discussions. In the second round, the participants were asked to score the items through a 10-point scale. Consensus was achieved through the following criteria: (1) the median of scores has to be at 7.5 or higher, and (2) at least 70% of participants need to rate 7 or higher. Also, the inter-rater reliability analysis was performed to determine consistency among raters using the Kappa coefficient and Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: Twenty-one experts participated in our study. From the first round of the study, a 47-item checklist was developed. By considering the aforementioned criteria for consensus building on extremely important factors, we reached a 15-item checklist including species, strain, method and level of injury, control group, genetic background, severity of injury, attrition, use of appropriate test, blindness, method of allocation to treatments, regulation and ethics, age/weight, bladder expression, number of animals/group and statistics. The inter-rater reliability for the raters was found to be Kappa=0.82 (P<0.001). A Cronbach's alpha of 0.9 for all the questions indicated high internal consistency. CONCLUSION: This study introduces a checklist of variables that potentially influence the outcomes of animal studies regarding TSCI pathophysiology and describe its validity and reliability.
Asunto(s)
Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Traumatismos de la Médula Espinal/diagnóstico , Traumatismos de la Médula Espinal/fisiopatología , Índices de Gravedad del Trauma , Animales , Lista de Verificación , Técnica Delphi , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Especificidad de la Especie , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Modulation of the immune response is an important strategy by which establishment and growth of hydatid cyst in the internal organs of human is warranted. Induction of apoptosis in the lymphocytes might be a considerable component. This study was designed to evaluate apoptotic impact of hydatid fluid (HF) on human lymphocytes. METHODS: Human lymphocytes were treated with hydatid fluid. After 6 hours of exposure, caspase-3 activity, the central enzyme of apoptosis cascade, was measured by fluorometric assay in the HF-treated lymphocytes and control cells. In addition, the expression of Bax (a pro-apoptotic protein) and Bcl-2 (an anti-apoptotic protein) mRNA was assessed by RT-PCR after 12 hours of exposure. RESULTS: Both the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 mRNA expression and Caspase-3 activity were higher in the HF-treated lymphocytes relative to the control group. CONCLUSION: Apoptosis could be as a possible mechanism by which Echinococcus granulosus overwhelms host defenses.
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Outbreaks of Bacillus anthracis in animals are repeatedly reported in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In this study soil samples were analysed from endemic regions of the country, and B. anthracis isolates were identified by classical bacteriological and biochemical methods. A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was also developed as an alternative for identification of isolates, and was shown to be a rapid, sensitive and specific diagnostic assay. The results confirmed that 25 samples contained B. anthracis, of which 9 were virulent for mice and guinea pigs. This study suggests that multiplex PCR can be used as a reliable alternative for the detection of B. anthracis spores.
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Bacillus anthracis , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa/métodos , Microbiología del Suelo , Animales , Carbunco/epidemiología , Carbunco/microbiología , Carbunco/veterinaria , Colorantes Azulados , Bacillus anthracis/genética , Bacillus anthracis/aislamiento & purificación , Bacillus anthracis/patogenicidad , Técnicas de Tipificación Bacteriana/métodos , Colorantes , ADN Bacteriano/análisis , ADN Bacteriano/genética , Brotes de Enfermedades/estadística & datos numéricos , Enfermedades Endémicas/estadística & datos numéricos , Cobayas , Irán/epidemiología , Ratones , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa/normas , Sensibilidad y Especificidad , Esporas Bacterianas , Factores de TiempoRESUMEN
Outbreaks of Bacillus anthracis in animals are repeatedly reported in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In this study soil samples were analysed from endemic regions of the country, and B. anthracis isolates were identified by classical bacteriological and biochemical methods. A multiplex polymerase chain reaction [PCR] assay was also developed as an alternative for identification of isolates, and was shown to be a rapid, sensitive and specific diagnostic assay. The results confirmed that 25 samples contained B. anthracis, of which 9 were virulent for mice and guinea pigs. This study suggests that multiplex PCR can be used as a reliable alternative for the detection of B. anthracis spores